Despite many voters taking advantage of absentee balloting or early in-person voting, a sizeable number of voters are still expected to turn out Tuesday.
According to Kentucky Secretary of State Michael Adams, as of September 30, 3,565,428 million Kentuckians were registered to vote, a jump of nearly 48,000 registered voters since the end of August. Over 574,000 absentee ballots had been returned to county clerks offices around the state, while another 933,000 voters cast ballots in the 19 days of early in-person voting.
Breaking down the numbers by party, Democrats preferred absentee voting more than Republicans, with the opposite the case for in-person early voting — Officials said Democrats cast 374,610 absentee ballots as of November 1, compared to 162,845 Republicans. For in-person voting, it was 511,062 Republicans and 365,974 registered Democrats who voted, giving Democrats 740,584 voters to 673,907 Republican voters.
Even with those early voting numbers, Adams is expecting a busy Tuesday, as the state’s top election official predicts a 70 percent voter turnout.
Grayson County voters to decide several seats
In Grayson County, all 22 polling places will be open, but anyone who is registered to vote may cast their ballot at the Centre on Main in Leitchfield. The polls opened at 6:00 a.m. and close at 6:00 p.m. (anyone in line to vote prior to 6:00 p.m. will be allowed to cast a ballot).
(Click here to find K105.com’s election results, beginning just after 6:00 p.m.)
The races up for grabs in Grayson County on Tuesday include:
The Leitchfield City Council race comprised of the following candidates (in the order the candidates appear on ballots): Carl “Moon” Smith, Margie Decker, James “Clayton” Miller, William “Billy” Dallas, Terri Haycraft, Jessica Embry, Charlie Elmore, Stacey Kinkade Whitley, Joanne DeWeese, Raymond “Tooty” Cottrell, and Angela Gibson.
The top six vote getters will make up the council for the next two years.
Short of a write-in candidate garnering massive support, the Caneyville and Clarkson City Commission races are essentially already decided, as four candidates (Scott Majors, Deborah Embry, Mike Geary, and Janice Minton) and running for four seats in Caneyville, and in Clarkson only three candidates (Joyce A. Bell, Tara L. Sallee and Robert “Bob” Vincent) are running for four seats.
Other Grayson County elections include the battle for the 4th District Constable position, pitting Republican Bill Dalton against Democrat incumbent David Strader.
Incumbent Grayson County School Board members Valeria Hayes, Alfreda Weedman and Carolyn D. Thomason are running unopposed.
In multi-county races, incumbent U.S. Representative Brett Guthrie is being challenged by Democrat Hank Linderman, Populist Party candidate Lewis Carter and Libertarian Party candidate Robert Lee Perry.
Additionally, incumbent GOP state Senator Stephen L. Meredith is being challenged by Libertarian Guy M. Miller and Independent John Whipple, while incumbent state Representative Samara Heavrin (R) is taking on Libertarian Jacob Clark.
In statewide races, incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell faces Democrat Amy McGrath and Libertarian Brad Barron.
Of course, President Donald Trump is in a fight for a second term with Democrat Joe Biden, with Libertarian Jo Jorgenson, and Independents Kanye West and Brock Pierce also on the ballot.
By Ken Howlett, News Director
Contact Ken at ken@k105.com
